Every Ontario resident with his or her primary and permanent home
in Ontario is entitled to free access to emergency and preventive
medical care under OHIP. Ontario residents may go to a
participating doctor—essentially every doctor practicing in the
province—any time they wish and the services are billed through
OHIP to the government. It does not cover such areas as prescription drugs or dental care, although Ontario does have a drug
insurance plan, for use as a "last resort", it is known as the
Trillium Drug Program.

Delisted care

Until 2004, OHIP also paid for an eye
examination every two years and limited chiropractic and physical therapy services. After May 2004,
however, most eye exams and all chiropractic and physical therapy
were "delisted," or removed from coverage, by the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty. Provision continues to be
made for free coverage to minors. Annual
eye examinations are free for seniors (over 65) and those receiving
ODSP (every two years).

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for coverage under OHIP, a person normally
must be a Canadian citizen
or Permanent Resident or
a holder of a work permit as set out in Ontario's Health Insurance
Act, must make his or her permanent and principal home in Ontario,
and must be physically present in Ontario 153 days in any 12-month
period. Canadian citizens or permanent residents returning to
Canada from another country are not normally covered by OHIP until
they have been resident in Ontario for three months. It is
recommended to obtain private health insurance to cover this
three-month period. For those Canadian citizens or permanent
residents moving to Ontario from another province, the province of
previous residency will continue to cover them during the three
month waiting period.[42650]

OMSIP

Ontario's first government-run health plan was known as OMSIP
(Ontario Medical Services Insurance Plan), established and enacted
on 1 July1966. On
1 October1969, it was
replaced by OHSIP, the Ontario Health Services Insurance Plan, as a
provincially run and federally assisted plan under the federal
Medical Care Insurance Act
for establishment of a national medicare plan. In 1972 the plan
name was shortened to simply OHIP.